Dale Earnhardt Jr. could barely crack a smile after his performance on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway – and this after the guy finished fourth.
Fourth!
Most drivers would happily take a top-five finish without a second thought, but Earnhardt Jr. said he was "just so damn embarrassed about how we ran all night" and even apologized to his fans for not having a competitive car.
Earnhardt Jr., who moved back into the top 12 in points (he's now 11th), repeatedly said his team got lucky by surviving a wreck-filled race.
In fact, he used the word "lucky" at least eight times in a six-minute interview.
"We're getting a little bit more lucky than I would like," he said. "We're not running good enough to finish fourth, so we're lucky to finish there. You don't want to make the Chase on pure luck, you know? You want to make it because you ran well."
Earnhardt Jr. said the No. 88 team "just totally missed it" with the setup. Crew chief Lance McGrew opted for the same setup used in the team's runnerup Daytona 500 finish, but Earnhardt Jr. noted that the team never ran well in the 500 until it got new tires at the very end.
"Mark (Martin) had the same setup (tonight), and we both ran like shit," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Jimmie (Johnson) and Jeff (Gordon) had different stuff, and I was looking at it and going, 'Wonder why they've got that?' And then they ran like they did."
"We've just got to be smarter, you know?" Earnhardt Jr. said, pointing emphatically at his head.
The sport's most popular driver was asked why he wasn't just happy with a top-five finish.
"I'm taking it," he said. "Shit, yeah. Sure. Why not? But we've just got to do better. It's not good enough."
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. 'So Damn Embarrassed' By Daytona Performance
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Comments
What a dumbass. His dad used to race the entire Daytona race from last place until the last 20 laps. Who cares how you got up there. No one remembers the journey, only the finish.
by Troy J. on Jul 4, 2010 12:11 PM EDT reply actions
Dumbass?
How does that make him a dumbass. If anything it shows how competitive he is. He doesn’t just want to get lucky and show up in the top 5 right at the end. He want’s to run good and be in there from start to finish.
by Joelg88 on Jul 5, 2010 7:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, it wasn't pretty.
And heck yeah we’ll take fourth, but by no means did we deserve to finish there. And if it weren’t for the big one and narrowly escaping, we would have finished much worse – a lot worse.
We definately got a gift and we shouldn’t question it so much. But I can see where Junior’s coming from. He was absolutely terrible. And when does that happen for Junior at a plate track? Almost unheard of. And I think it was an even bigger let down coming off such a good night in the Nationwide Race. Go from having an awesome car to almost a pile of junk. Which I hope that car finds it’s place in Junior’s woods somewhere.
by jr88freak on Jul 4, 2010 12:52 PM EDT reply actions
Lance has got to go....bring back Tony Jr or Pops
I can’t believe they used the same car from the 500. The track is totally different in the summer….even I know that. What is with this team!!! Junior needs better equipment and better set ups…this ain’t working.
by 88JrFan on Jul 4, 2010 7:15 PM EDT reply actions
Goes to show that Hendrick has 2, 2 car teams...
It seems like what I’ve been saying all along…HMS has a 24/48 team, and a 88/5 team. The 4 teams never seem to be working together. I agree 150% with Dale Jr. Why were they running the Daytona 500 setup, when that setup was junk. He ran 20th the whole race until He had 4 fresh tires and a few GWC finishes to rally up to 2nd. Dale Jr. is driving his butt off and he wants to win. That is why he is not a dumbass Troy J. He is unhappy with a 4th because he knows that they didn’t have a 4th place car, and in order for them to keep a place in the chase, that team is going to have to bring car’s to the track every week that are better than the one they brought to the track in Daytona.
by Marcus Steib on Jul 5, 2010 1:41 PM EDT reply actions
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